Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Teens’ possible drug use surprises many

News that the recent death of a popular Boulder City High School football player may have been caused by a drug overdose shocked many in the small quiet city of sprawling parks that seems much more than the 20 or so miles it sits from Las Vegas.

Some were surprised that drugs may be such a problem with the youth in "clean green" Boulder City.

But others said that while they realize Boulder City teens are just like teens elsewhere and some will experiment with drugs, they were surprised by the death.

"There's this image of a small town America, a Norman Rockwell picture," said Ken Byler, 69, who retired to Boulder City 10 years ago. "Some people think we're so close to all this sin but we're able to insulate ourselves, and that's not the case. ...

"The ones that weren't surprised are the ones who have contact with the kids who go to school here," he said. "I wasn't surprised that it happened here. I was surprised by who it happened to."

Police say that Johnny Aquino's Aug. 31 death may have been caused by a drug overdose. Police believe the death was accidental. Aquino died after a party at his apartment.

Three of his teammates were suspended from the team for the year for violating school athletic rules in connection to incident that night. School officials refused to say what they did. A neighbor said they were at the party but left before Aquino had any problems.

Mayor Bob Ferraro said the death has shocked the small-town community.

"Because Boulder City is a small community where you know everybody and we don't expect something like that to occur," Ferraro said.

The mayor said the possibility of an overdose shows that Boulder City has a drug problem. But Ferraro said the same problem exists throughout the country.

Police Chief Bill Turk noted that "It's just like any other town.

"Just because Boulder City is a small town doesn't mean we don't have the same problems as everybody else," he said.

The fact that Aquino died was difficult for many because of who he was.

Aquino, 17, was the returning starting center on the football team and an avid weight lifter -- the strongest kid in school. Friends, classmates and his coach say Aquino was a genuinely nice guy, always ready to crack a joke.

He juggled sports and school while working as a cashier at a local restaurant. His mother said he was so responsible that when he asked if he could move into an apartment with a friend at the end of his junior year, she let him.

Everything seemed to be going well, his mother said. Aquino wasn't missing work or school, and always made it to his parent's apartment for Sunday dinner.

Aquino's football coach and a witness said Aquino had a seizure before being taken to the hospital. Aquino's mother Maria Mendoza said her son had two seizures when he was a toddler, one when he was about a year old and another just before he turned 2.

The situation surrounding Aquino's death has many residents talking about their small town.

Dan Benyshek, 40, moved to Boulder City about 2 1/2 years ago because he wanted to live in a smaller, quiet community near his new job as an anthropology professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

Benyshek said that while he knows small towns have many of the same problems larger cities do, he was surprised to learn that a Boulder City teen may have overdosed on drugs.

"Boulder City seems to be so insulated from Vegas," Benyshek said. "I was a little surprised because in Boulder City it's quiet here. ...

"But it's not as though we have a population of 600 and are in the middle of nowhere. We're next to Las Vegas and have a population of 15,000."

If the cause of Aquino's death does turn out to be a drug overdose, City Councilman Mike Pacini said the death should serve as a wake up call for city residents.

"Boulder City is not unlike any other city. We have problems with youth and problems with drugs," Pacini said. He added that if the death was caused by a drug overdose, it wouldn't be the city's first. Pacini, who graduated from Boulder High in 1985, said a girl he knew overdosed on drugs in the early or mid-1980s.

Ken Morang, 42 and a lifelong Boulder City resident, said hopefully other youth will learn to stay away from drugs.

Morang said that while drug use doesn't fit with the city's image of an oasis from the goings on in the rest of the Las Vegas Valley, gaming is banned in Boulder City, he knew drugs weren't foreign to the city.

"Boulder City is a small town so you wouldn't think they're here, but they're here," said Morang, a 1979 Boulder High graduate.

"The drugs and alcohol are everywhere," Morang said. "But I was surprised that it was such a well-rounded athlete and good kid. ... Surprised that someone of his caliber might have been in that situation and not just walked away."

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